The Empty Nest
by therealfearjunkie
Summary: Follow up to Answer to Me. What happens when the one of the few happy things in Taiyang's life leaves with only a note left behind.


(Note: This is a follow up to Answer To Me)

Taiyang put the toast and fruit on the tray as he hummed to himself. It wasn't any particular tune, it was just something he felt was normal. He was trying to get back to normal.

 _Do you think acting normal will fix anything?_ A part of his mind asked cynically. _Do you honestly think that just acting like everything's alright will undo all that's been lost?_

Taiyang closed his eyes, trying to keep positive. His daughters were home. Right now, that was all that mattered to him.

"Ruby, I made breakfast!" he called out.

No answer.

 _Maybe she's still sleeping._

Taiyang walked into the room, expecting to see his youngest daughter in her bed. Instead, he found a bed empty except for a handwritten note. Taiyang felt the tray slip from his fingers, crashing to the floor, the cup of milk shattering and spilling its contents everywhere.

"No..." he choked out before running down the hall, past Yang's room. He threw the front door open- not even stopping to close it behind him and ran into the snow. "No, no, no, no, _please God no, please don't be gone..."_

"Ruby?!" Taiyang called out, desperation seeping into his voice. There was no reply. A part of him hoped she was just on a walk and would come back. The rest of him feared she had ran off.

Taiyang ran through the snow-covered woods like a man possessed, screaming Ruby's name. He'd done this all too often before- back when he was looking for Raven.

But now it was his daughter, his own flesh and blood, that had ran off.

Taiyang's lungs felt like they were on fire when he reached his physical limit. Cold, miserable, and with eyes full of tears, he collapsed to his knees and slammed his fist into a snowbank.

"Why do they leave...?" he asked nobody as he broke down into sobbing.

"...why does everyone leave?"

Taiyang sat in the snow for a few moments before forcing himself to stand back up and went back to the house. He dialed Qrow up once he got back to the living room. "Where's Ruby?"

"What do you mean, where's Ruby?" Qrow asked. Taiyang could hear the whistling of wind in the background. "She's gone." snarled Taiyang. "And if you had _anything_ to do with this, I _will_ feed you to the damn Grimm."

"I don't have anything to do with this, Tai." replied Qrow. "Did she leave a note?"

Taiyang walked back to Ruby's room. "Yeah."

Qrow sighed. "See, you're freaking out before you even get any of the facts straight. You're slipping into bad habits, Tai. Calm down."

It was at that moment Taiyang's patience snapped like a twig. " ** _PATIENCE?!_** " Taiyang roared, screaming into the Scroll. Back in Yang's room, the blonde was snapped out of her depression for a moment as misery was briefly replaced by shock. She had _never_ heard her father yell like that.

Taiyang stormed to Ruby's room, stepping over broken glass to read the note. "SHE'S GOING TO MISTRAL?!" he bellowed, clutching the note in a fist and squeezing the Scroll so tightly the screen was ready to crack.

"Tai, please calm down-" begged Qrow, sounding genuinely concerned. This wasn't normal for Taiyang.

" _ **I AM NOT GOING TO 'CALM DOWN'!"**_ Taiyang yelled as veins in his neck began to bulge. He felt furious- at his daughter for leaving, at himself for not keeping a closer eye on her, at the world for putting him through this hell. **_"YANG'S LOST AN ARM AND RUBY'S IN A DIFFERENT FUCKING KINGDOM, I HAVE EVERY GODDAMN RIGHT TO BE ANGRY!"_**

With that, Taiyang threw the Scroll against the wall and smashed his fist into the wall. Drywall crumbled and gave way underneath his fist, leaving an ugly hole in the wall. Taiyang felt his knuckles bruise and throb from the impact, but he was beyond caring at this point. He used his uninjured hand to wipe bitter tears from his eyes.

"Dammit...dammit, dammit, dammit." he said as he sat on the floor, head in his hands.

"What am I going to do now?"


End file.
